The ETSU eSports Rocket League and Overwatch teams concluded their seasons this past Monday, with both teams advancing to the first rounds of conference playoffs on Nov. 8.
This was ETSU’s first year with a Rocket League team, and it was a winning season with seven wins and only two losses. The Overwatch team lived up to its success from the previous season, where they placed in the top 16 in the nation.
This year, they captured nine wins and two losses. Next Monday, Nov. 8, the Rocket League team will face the University of Tulsa in the conference playoffs and the Overwatch team will oppose Shenandoah University.
“I think what I’m most proud about the teams so far is how well they’ve navigated this transition back to on-campus,” said eSports head coach Jeff Shell. “I think it’s been a messy and stressful time for everyone. You throw the pressure of competition on top of it, and then it’s really easy to crack, really easy to let things slip through the cracks. But for the most part, they’ve all done an excellent job at keeping themselves together, helping their teammates navigate this.”
A lot of the details about the playoffs remain up in the air. According to Shell, eSports in general are very flexible and open to change, so some of the conference playoff dates are undetermined. If either of the teams make it to national playoffs, they are set to be held Dec. 4 and 5, during finals week.
The League of Legends season will begin the week of Jan. 17.
“So, for League of Legends, I think the most exciting thing for us is going to be just to really see how far this team can go. In the south conference, we were one game away from making the conference playoffs for this team last year. And since then, we’ve made some really big upgrades to the roster,” said Shell.
